Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing i am legend near you. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that was influential in the modern development of zombie and vampire literature and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. With that in mind, what some feel is a confusing ending becomes far more clear when you understand nevilles personal journey. This man, our protagonist in both the book and film, is robert neville. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 2. In any case, recovery is not part of the original story, while central to the film. I am legends biggest change from the book broke the movie. Another big part of the i am legend book thats never been adapted faithfully is its ending, which sees neville commit suicide rather than be executed for his apparent crimes.
I am legend is a 2007 film adaption of the novel of the same name. I am legend is suspenseful, has nice cinematography and visuals as well as having a good performance by will smith. They are cannibalistic zombies who have an aversion to light. Both present the spectator with a differentalternative ending, far from what happen in the actual book.
Whats the difference between i am legend the book and i am legend the movie. Through his perspective, i am legend is a story of hope wrapped in a layer of postapocalyptic turmoil with religious overtones. Will smiths 2007 box office hit i am legend had an ending that divided audiences, but an alternate ending exists that does more justice to the book. I am legend is a 2007 american postapocalyptic action thriller film based on the 1954 novel of. Immune, neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of new york city and perhaps the world. I am legend 2007 the basics hopefully all of you know the basic story behind i am legend. Every night, he barricades himself inside his house and keeps the vampire horde at bay. Right, i just saw i am legend, and dont get the end. Robert neville finds himself alone after a hideous mutation turns humans into vampires.
During the fight between robert and the infected, robert realizes that the infected female he had captured earlier and tested the virus vaccine on, has come back to her human form. The point of the novel is that neville is the last of his kind and with the plague comes an evolution in the dominant. Neville comes across a seemingly uninfected woman, ruth, abroad in the daylight and captures her. Will smiths 2007 box office hit i am legend had an ending that. I am legend isnt particularly long either, hardly even novel length. Her brief outro completely ruins the darkly clever play of the book s original plot that neville is a legend, hated. Also, as in 2007s i am legend, the end of the novel is changed drastically. Richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend has been adapted into films before, most notably 1971s the omega man, with charlton heston. Jul 04, 20 i assume you are referring to the 2007 film starring will smith and the controversial original ending special feature on the dvd release. Its as if the screenwriters or director, or producer ran out of ways to wrap it up.
Dont criticize i am legend for being different than. The end of the film was shot in lambertville, new jersey. Instead of blowing himself and the hemocytes up with a grenade, neville. We have an intriguing problem with comparing the book and film. Now for a topic thats neither divisive nor prone to eliciting irrational anger and awkward discomfort. A ninepart abridged reading of the novel performed by angus macinnes was originally broadcast on bbc radio 7 in january 2006 and repeated in january 2018. I am legend 2 online sa prevodom by tridotvada issuu. It is not made clear on the front of the book, or anywhere that this is a collection of short stories, not a novel. Still, you cant fault i am legend for trying to be different from the typical action thriller. I have gone through a similar question to mine, but in that question they are talking about the ending of the book while my friend is sure that he had watched the movie where. Robert neville, as he searches for a cure to a vicious, manmade disease.
Jun 04, 2011 but when it comes down to it, is the book really better than the movie. Anna gives the syringe with the antidote to the human leader of that small community and her voice over tells us of the legend that robert neville has become. I didnt like the fact that it didnt respect the book. He works to create a remedy while defending himself against the virus victims, who turn into hostile mutants.
The first says, man, its just a badass vampire book. Changing i am legend s creatures which were created by the virus outbreak in the movie made adapting the book s ending impossible, as the darkseekers showed almost no signs of heightened intelligence earlier in the movie. An unrelated film tiein was released in 2007 as a oneshot i am legend. Alice krippin is interviewed about her great discovery, she has changed the measles so that it attacks cancerous cells. I am legend is about a zombielike horde wiping out much of. I am legend is a post apocalyptic vision by richard matheson, created in 1954 it tells the story of robert neville, the last surviving human in the world, surrounded by bloodthirsty vampires both living and undead. Ending spoiler for i am legend 2007, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. In the book, the protagonist gets executed by a society composed of what is the next level in evolution of the human race, and he realizes the role reversal that he was the monster of legend to these people, as the vampires were to the previous human race. I am legend was released on december 14, 2007, in the united states and canada, and opened to the largest ever box office not adjusted for inflation for a nonchristmas film released in the u. I picked it up mostly because i read about the alternate ending of the will smith movie, which some criticized for not following the spirit of the book. There are two camps when it comes to discussing the issue of race in mathesons book. I think its just a collection of short stories with the headliner being the most famous. Robert neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and manmade. Director francis lawrence recently opened up about his work on 2007 s i am legend and explained what he would change about the film today.
Jun 12, 2016 my thoughts on i am legend, both with the 1954 book written by richard matheson and the 2007 film directed by francis lawrence. I am legend is not a direct wordforword adaptation of the book, but rather, as screenwriter akiva goldsman points out, its a mesh combination of the book. Also, as in 2007 s i am legend, the end of the novel is changed drastically. I am legend originally had an ending closer to the book s, but that was changed after negative reactions from test. The film was released to theaters on friday, december 14, 2007.
I am legend, the third cinematic adaptation of richard mathesons novel, has been in development for a very long time. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that. It looks like the powersthatbe over at warner bros. With that in mind, what some feel is a confusing ending becomes far. What i am legends director would change in retrospect. The story is very much darker and deeper than the will smith film of the same name. Hes a legend, but for the wrong reasonsin line with richard mathesons book, he is an. Originally slated to star arnold schwarzenegger and be directed by ridley scott, this movie has kicked around for so long that by the time it has finally reached the screen, schwarzenegger is out of the business altogether and the director is someone whose career in music. I though the book was effectively i am legend and other short stories by richard matheeson. Is there an i am legend movie that actually preserves the. Sep 06, 2012 last night i finished reading i am legend. Published in 1954, acclaimed author richard mathesons novel i am legend is one of the most highly regarded works of apocalyptic fiction to date. Dec, 2007 the opening scenes of i am legend have special effects so good that they just about compensate for some later special effects that are dicey. Off the back of the huge success of i am legend back in 2007, warner bros was keen to develop either a prequel or a sequel to the film.
Or perhaps the film simply doesnt have the same nuances as the richard matheson book on which its based. Awakening published in a san diego comiccon special by vertigo. As discussed by first showing and film, the alternate ending for i am legend is a better representation of the source material. It turns out those changed into vampirelike creatures by the plague have formed their own society and are still mostly intelligent, and view neville as a monster, a kind of boogeyman they fear and loathe due to his killing of their species. The ending to the alternate theatrical version varies from the original ending. I am legend originally had an ending closer to the books, but that. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in new york city struggles valiantly to find a cure. Will smith plays virologist robert neville, who is immune to a manmade virus originally created to cure cancer. The version of i am legend which i watched ended with will smith alive, but my friend claims that he had watched the same movie, in which he was killed by the zombies. What did the healing zombie in the basement have to do with it. But if you have only seen that will smith movie that went 180 degrees on the book s message, the soulcrushing impact of these words will be lost on you. The 2007 loose film adaptation and only one to bear the name of richard mathesons novel i am legend. We see manhattan three years after a deadly virus has killed every healthy human on the island, except one.
The point of the novel is that neville is the last of his kind and with. Nov 18, 2007 apparently the new postapocalyptic will smith film i am legend had to get snapped back into production to redo the ending. The 1956 i am legend book is a vampire story inspired by dracula. I am legend 1010 movie clip alternate ending 2007 hd.
The alternate ending to i am legend where they respect him and growl at him in an acknowledging way is odd and feels out of place. I am lege nd i s a 2 007 american postapocalyptic action thriller film based on the 1954 novel of the same name by richard matheson. Dec 14, 2017 i am legend is about a zombielike horde wiping out much of humanity, but its confusing ending becomes clear if you understand the personal journey of its hero. I have gone through a similar question to mine, but in that question they are talking about the ending of the book while my friend is sure that he had watched the. Mar 28, 2020 the symbolic value of the 2007 theatrical ending is too specific to be accidental. Directed by francis lawrence, the film stars will smith as us army virologist robert neville.
After the initial shock of seeing another human wears off, neville becomes suspicious of ruth and is skeptical of her story. So i just finished i am legend by richard matheson. The negatives i have are the cgi as well as the ending. But a few years later, it mutated into plague that kills most of the people on earth or turns them into creatures, there are a few who are immune.
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